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E36 (1991 - 1999) The E36 chassis 3-Series BMW was a huge hit among driving enthusiasts from the first moment the car hit the pavement. The E36 won numerous awards over the years it was produced and is still a favorite of many BMW enthusiasts to this day! -- View the E36 Wiki

I agree, but you also don't have any idea of how this was maintained prior to me. You can find plenty of pictures where the engines look spotless. You get more hp at the expense of heat so you have to find a way to get ride of it. There is a reason the the S54 is one of the few set ups that comes from the factory with an oil cooler. Another issue with oil is low mile trips suck. You get condensation in the block and if you don't get the oil up to temp for a suitable amount of time you don't distill off the water and that forms the acid that helps get you sludge. I was pleased not to find scoring on the cams, which is more of an indicator than the dark crap. If you go back and look at my shots of the oil pan. That was all caked on. It took two hours of scotch pad, WD40, brake cleaner and simple green to get that off. Oil choice is important too. BMW changed the weight spec of the oil after the bearing incident. It went from 5 w 30 to 10w 60. This opens up plenty of debate on oil and the like. For the record I don't plan on the specified oil rather something that is higher in zinc and phosphorus.

Amsoil all the way man. I know they used to make a Z rod oil that we ran in my dads chevelle. Stuff was high zinc and phosphorus....every time we pulled the block apart it was like the thing was cleannnnn. Stuff has awesome wear protection. Not trying to steer you towards one product but +1 on Amsoil.

I like this guy . Me too haha ....dominator amsoil for the ski-doo's
synthetic 5w-30 in the bimmer and i don't remember what i use in the four-wheeler
Threads looking awesome man and engines looking great so far.

I agree, but you also don't have any idea of how this was maintained prior to me. You can find plenty of pictures where the engines look spotless. You get more hp at the expense of heat so you have to find a way to get ride of it. There is a reason the the S54 is one of the few set ups that comes from the factory with an oil cooler. Another issue with oil is low mile trips suck. You get condensation in the block and if you don't get the oil up to temp for a suitable amount of time you don't distill off the water and that forms the acid that helps get you sludge. I was pleased not to find scoring on the cams, which is more of an indicator than the dark crap. If you go back and look at my shots of the oil pan. That was all caked on. It took two hours of scotch pad, WD40, brake cleaner and simple green to get that off. Oil choice is important too. BMW changed the weight spec of the oil after the bearing incident. It went from 5 w 30 to 10w 60. This opens up plenty of debate on oil and the like.
One other thing on the oil. If that was 10w60 in there it is some thick goo. Any oil left sitting on hot engine parts will do this. What is amazing is the amount of oil on the upper end weeks, or even months after this thing was run.

How many miles were on the s54 engine? From what year is it? What kid of quote did you get for mss54 reflash for swap?

BMW probably went with much thicker oil because people were reving the crap out of the engine when cold. This is why the W60 but when the oil warms up it is still 10w.

these engines rev to 8000 rpm and make 333hp, that is tremendous kinetic energy stressed on the metals. This is true motorsports engine

I think the reason the went to 10w 60 is simply warranty work eats into the profits. Do research on oil shear and your head starts to spin. I run the Amsoil simply because it is good and the east coast distribution center is located in Richmond, Va so I can pick up what I need. I like Red Line also but it is hard to find. Advance Auto actually carried it for about 2 months but got rid of it. Hard for anyone to buy it when Mobil One was sitting next to it at half the price. Bimmerworld said they run 15/50 in there cars. Most of the zinc and phosphorus was pulled out of the modern oils because it supposedly wreck havoc on the cats. I read somewhere that the cats had to last for a certain amount of miles but can't recall where As for the black oil goo residue, there were actually some small chunks on the strainer. I will see if I can get you a shot. I am going to play around with some WD40 on one side and some SeaFoam on the other to see what eats through the crud. Was also toying with some good old fashioned Coca Cola. Old school.
The engine was out of a 2001 will 114,000 miles. That is the info but I can't verify. I am going to have the reflash done at Bimmerworld.

I want to order the Rogue cover for the dif and will probably do that Tuesday so i can get it here for the weekend. I snoozed on one on ebay and could have picked it up for $400. Oh well, it will make a swell Christmas present for my wife.

I read somewhere that the cats had to last for a certain amount of miles but can't recall where

Fed statute requires 7 year or 70K mile warranty on the CAT(s) and the emission control computer if the car has a dedicated computer. The rest of the emissions system is only covered for the duration of the basic warranty.